How Can You Turn Your Video Script Outline from Blah into Fantastic?

Turning your video script outline from bland, uninspired copy to a fantastic piece of work is not as difficult as it may first seem. Once you have a system down that you can replicate, it becomes much easier. Here we have gathered a quick-and-dirty guide to turning your video script into a masterpiece in as little time as possible. Prepare yourself for adoring fans by first answering this question:

What Is the Mission?

This is the very first question you should ask yourself before even thinking about creating a video script. It is important to choose one goal for the video you will produce and stick to it. This is because, without a rigid structure focused on one goal, the video might veer way off track. You might lose your audience from the get-go. Instead, ask yourself next what do you want the viewer to do by the end of the video? Videos, after all, should serve one purpose in your online marketing efforts. Figuring up front what you want your viewer to do with the information you have provided them will help you further hone your script writing.

Define Your Ideal Audience

Next, we must identify your ideal audience for the video. Brainstorm who you think would be most receptive to your message for a good 15 to 25 minutes. To get you started, identify your audience's pain points. This will take a little extra research on your part, but the end result will benefit greatly. Go to websites such as Quora or Yahoo Answers and type in your keyword or keywords. What you see in the search results are the solutions you need to provide in the video.

Also delve into blogs, forums, or even Facebook groups. These groups are similar to Quora or Yahoo Answers except you will get a better sense of the conversational flow. How these people talk and interact with each other provides insights. This can be an invaluable place to pick up certain lingo or slang words your audience uses on a regular basis. Incorporating some of these phrases into your own script can help set you apart from your competition.

Craft an Engaging Opener

Crafting an opener will help you hook viewers into your video production immediately. This is important because most people have very short attention spans when it comes to consuming video content. To get an engaging opener started, try opening with a single sentence that does one of these tried-and-true tactics:

Open with a Provocative Question

You can start your video with a provocative question that begs viewer engagement. Some good examples include:

"Are you embarrassed by x?"

"Do you make these simple mistakes with x?"

"Some people excel at x, some people don't - which one are you?"

Use Negatives to Channel the Inner Gossip of Your Viewers

Everyone likes a good gossip story and coming up with a video that exposes a negative aspect of something will entice the viewer to learn more. You can use such tactics as:

"10 reasons x is a waste of time"

"How to be happy doing x - Not!"

"Don't be fooled by x"

These statements set you apart because they go against the grain of what most people expect in a content-driven video.

Craft a Closing Call to Action

This is what your script has been building up to. This is the moment where you finally call on your audience to perform the necessary action you identified in step one. This is where you ask your viewers to visit your website, download your free training material, leave a comment, like, and/or subscribe. In order for this to work, you must provide enough free value in each script to warrant the call to action.

If you provide this level of value to your potential audience, you will have a much stronger conversion rate. You will enjoy much higher engagement. This is a critical point that cannot be understated. When it comes to video production and writing effective video scripts, delivering value is king.

Putting it all Together

To recap, first identify your audience. Pick one problem the video will solve and hook your viewer early. Provide value so the call to action is effective. Then review your work before shooting the video or sending it off to your production team. With this process in place, your video will see more conversions in a shorter amount of time. It is critical to have a system in place when writing your video script outlines. Make sure to experiment with different types of intro hooks and calls to action to see what works best for you and your business. Remember, internet marketing is always evolving and so is video content. Make sure you are up to date.